The Charles Henry Parr House is a historic building located in

Charles City, Iowa Charles City is a city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Iowa. Charles City is a significant commercial and transportation center for the area. U.S. Routes 18 and 218, Iowa Highway 14, and the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railr ...

, United States. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1980. The 2½-story,

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

frame structure was completed in 1902. The house's primary significance is its association with

Charles Henry Parr Charles Henry Parr (March 18, 1868 – June 10, 1941) was an American mechanical engineer, inventor, and pioneer in the development of the gasoline powered agricultural tractor and cofounder of Hart-Parr Company. Early life and education Parr was ...

, who lived here from 1902, when he had it built, to 1941 when he died. with He, along with

Charles Walter Hart Charles Walter Hart (July 6, 1872 — March 14, 1937) was an American mechanical engineer, inventor, and businessman. Together with Charles Henry Parr, he founded a company that produced a commercially successful line of gasoline-powered tractors. ...

, founded the Hart-Parr Co. in Charles City. It was the first business in the country to exclusively manufacture farm tractors, and is attributed with coining the term "tractor." Parr was more of the inventor while Hart was more of a manager. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the plant produced shells for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. After the war they sold their interests in the business and Hart moved to

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, and Parr went to

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

to work with Conrad Frudden for a few years. After returning to Charles City, Parr continued his association with Hart-Parr as an engineer. In 1929 the company was one of four companies that merged to form

Oliver Farm Equipment Company The Oliver Farm Equipment Company was an American farm equipment manufacturer from the 20th century. It was formed as a result of a 1929 merger of four companies: the American Seeding Machine Company of Richmond, Indiana; Oliver Chilled Plow ...

References

Houses completed in 1902 Charles City, Iowa Houses in Floyd County, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Floyd County, Iowa Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Vernacular architecture in Iowa {{Iowa-struct-stub